A bit of a departure from the shopping-related norm today…I want to talk about my latest rediscovered hobby, sewing!

My mom taught me to sew when I was about 12, and I made quite a few of my own dresses when I was a teenager. Nothing beats the thrill of putting on a garment you’ve made yourself. Not only is it a guaranteed one-off, but if you struggle to find clothes to fit all or a specific part of your body, learning to sew means you can make things fit perfectly. So few women make clothes any more, which I think is a real shame. We can buy things so easily (and often so cheaply) that it often seems a waste of time to sew our own clothes. But I think it’s a real shame that we’ve stopped at least learning the basics, as it’s a really good skill to have.

That said, the last time I did any ‘proper’ sewing was when I made my dress for the school leaver’s meal. Since then, apart from the odd cushion cover or armchair cover, I’ve not really had the time to get behind the sewing machine despite having one at my disposal. I have a handful of patterns and a box full of fabric but actually sitting down and finishing a project seems to have eluded me to this point.

But then my friend Kat said she wanted her bridesmaids dresses made from Liberty print fabric. I was her maid of honour, so I offered to make my dress (her mum made the others). The joy of sewing for yourself is that you can tailor things precisely and try on as you go, meaning a perfect fit by the end, and I do love a good challenge!

Kat picked the fabric (a Liberty pink and cream pansy print) and the pattern, which was McCalls 5319, a now-discontinued 50s inspired party dress with a ruched waist panel, full skirt, and crossover bust with wide straps. It’s definitely a pattern designed with the curvier woman in mind. In fact the other bridesmaids eventually ended up with a different dress because this one swamped their slim figures.

I won’t go into reams and reams of detail about the pattern, except to warn that the sizing is really off, and though I cut the size that corresponded to my bust, hip and waist measurements for the toile (a practice in a much cheaper fabric – see left on the photo) I ended up having to take it in a lot, and went down almost two sizes by the time I made the real thing. I did lose some weight during that time, but definitely not two dress sizes! I also had to take the waist up by about two inches. I have a short torso anyway, but this pattern does appear to have been made for a giant.

Sewing it was fairly straightforward, however. If I could follow the pattern after almost 10 years of not sewing, then I’m sure nobody else would have trouble. Technique-wise, it was a bit fiddy in places – there are a lot of gathers (on the bust, back, waist panel and skirt) and at times you’re sewing up to four layers of dress and lining at one time, which can be tricky. I’d advise people to use a similar colour thread to tack and gather the waist section rather than a contrasting one, because removing multiple layers of tacking thread can be difficult once you’ve sewn all the layers together, and you do end up with lots of tacking thread as you secure various layers and gathers along the way.

Here I am with the wedding A Team (the gorgeous bride Kat and our fabulous friend Darika) in the finished dress (topped off with a Miss Selfridge lace cape). I was really happy with how it turned out. The fit-and-flare shape is a favourite of mine anyway because my waist is my smallest part, but I rarely wear light colours because of my pale skin, so I had to get used to that! I’ve got a fair amount of fake tan on in the pictures, would you believe!

The one thing I did learn a bit too late with this pattern is that the dress is far more revealing around the bust on photos than it seemed in real life. I’m quite big up top and constantly aware of showing inappropriate amounts of cleavage, so I fiddled with the dress a lot! If I made it again, I might cut a larger bust section and cross it over more in the middle for a bit more coverage, or perhaps adjust the gathers to accommodate.

Now I’ve got the bug again, I’m going to start sewing a lot more. I’ve been given an early birthday present of an adjustable dressmaker’s dummy, so I can now pin and fit to my measurements in the future. Next on the list is a vintage 50s sundress in peach with white polka dots. So watch this space!